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The well-known infant formula Enfamil has recently been the subject of a growing wave of product liability lawsuits filed in courts around the country. These Enfamil lawsuits have been prompted by recent medical evidence establishing that formulas made from cow milk (like Enfamil) are actually dangerous for premature babies because they significantly increase the risk of developing a deadly infection called necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC).

The company that makes Enfamil, Mead Johnson Nutrition, has known about the evidence linking its formula to NEC in premature babies. However, Mead Johnson has refused to include any warning on its product labeling for Enfamil and even marketed it as safe for preemies. Parents of premature babies who developed NEC from Enfamil and died or were permanently harmed are now holding Mead Johnson accountable and seeking financial compensation for their loss.

Enfamil is Dangerous for Premature Infants

Similac product liability lawsuits have been filed recently alleging that the popular baby formula has caused many premature infants to develop a serious gastrointestinal infection called necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). Our firm is currently looking into potential Similac lawsuits against the formula manufacturer, Abbott Laboratories Inc., for failure to warn about the risks of NEC associated with Similac. A successful baby formula NEC lawsuit could result in significant financial compensation.

Similac Causes NEC in Premature Infants

Similac is a leading brand of baby formula that is made from cow milk and given to infants as a substitute for their mother’s breast milk.  Recent scientific research and medical studies have confirmed that giving bovine formulas such as Similac to premature infants greatly increases their risk of a dangerous bowel infection called necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC).

I love minor league baseball games.  I’ve been to a few Delmarva Shorebirds games.  It really is a fun environment.

One thing I really like?  Any kid that really wants a baseball will get one at the game one way or another.  The Frederick Keys, Bowie Baysox, and the Aberdeen Iron Birds (I’m told, I have not seen an Iron Birds game but the stadium is awesome).

There is an interesting lawsuit in Wicomico County involving Jared Breen, a little known former minor league prospect of the Baltimore Orioles.  He is suing the Delmarva Shorebirds and Wicomico County after his career was cut short by a collision with an unpadded wall. The Orioles drafted Breen in the 24^th round of the 2013 Major League Baseball draft. After being drafted, Breen began his minor league career playing shortstop for the Delmarva Shorebirds.

In Armacost v. Davis, the first appellate tort opinion in Maryland in 2019, the Maryland Court of Appeals was asked to examine whether a trial court’s instructions to the jury were inappropriate and prejudicial in a medical malpractice case alleging negligence after a four-level cervical discectomy and fusion surgery performed by the defendant left the victim with claims of permanent injury.   The Maryland high court ultimately held that:

1)    The trial court did not mislead the jury as to the applicable law by first giving them general negligence instructions before instructing jurors on the standard of care applicable to the defendant brain surgeon’s actions.

2)    The trial court did not abuse its discretion by telling jurors how much longer they would be required to deliberate after they had previously expressed concerns over the length of the trial.

I got tossed from a little league baseball game yesterday.

I know what you are thinking.  Keep your mind open. Continue reading

The Maryland Court of Special Appeals reversed a $5.1 million (reduced to $1.25 million by the cap) lead paint verdict in a 91-page opinion written by Judge Shirley M. Watts.

The first 58 pages of this opinion are facts. But there are two real issues: (1) did plaintiff’s expert, a pediatrician, have the qualifications to render the opinions that the lead exposure at defendant’s property caused the brain injuries alleged in this case, and (2) did the trial court properly sanction the defendant and his lawyer for alleged willful discovery violations.

I care little about the latter issue because I’m just not a big fan of monetary sanctions against counsel. I’m really interested in sanctions like spoliation instructions and other sanctions that give a tactical advantage. But the retail value of the paper used demanding monetary sanctions is greater than the actual amount of sanctions against counsel that have been awarded and paid. The issue, in this case, is interesting – the opinion breaks down in painful detail – but it is ultimately as useful to me as my recollection of the Baltimore Orioles 1979 batting order. (I do, however, recommend reading the details about these sanctions for the entertainment value. I’m amazed that Judge Watts did not even comment in an off-hand way about the trial court’s findings of extreme discovery violations. I would not have the same discipline.)

So on to the actual issue: the qualification of the expert. The court found that even though the pediatrician was a licensed doctor and all, he really was not qualified or even prepared to render an opinion in this case. He had limited experience in treating kids with lead paint poisoning, never evaluating or diagnosing children with lead exposure, or even following the progress of kids with lead exposure. In fact, he did not even recall treating a child for lead poisoning. His qualifications, distilled down to their essence, appear to be that he is a pediatrician who keeps up with the medical literature. Continue reading

A fedora will no longer suffice.

Starting Monday, the ridiculous pass that mopeds and scooters in Maryland have been given on the most basic safety precautions will end. Moped and scooter drivers now must equip their death traps by wearing a helmet and some kind of eye protection. Scooter drivers must also register their vehicles and have a valid drivers’ license or a moped/scooter permit.

Maryland was one of the few remaining states that did not require a license, registration, and insurance for mopeds (or mo-peds? I can’t decide).

This blog post summarizes Mattison v. Gelber, a new Maryland Court of Appeals opinion in a medical malpractice case with a unique issue regarding whether there was an entry of final judgment without an award of costs. You can go to the jump at the bottom of the post. I take the dog for a short walk in the introduction.

When I started practicing law, one of the first cases that I was given was a plaintiff’s legal malpractice case. Except for a subrogation case – which really does not count as a plaintiff’s case – it was the only plaintiff’s case that I had in my first four years as a lawyer. Now, it has been ten years since I was on the other side of the v.

Anyway, in the malpractice case, the lawyer blew the time for filing a post-verdict appeal. He blew in the most bizarre way possible: he filed his Notice of Appeal too early before final judgment had been entered.

Committing legal malpractice for doing something too early stuck with me. I have been paranoid to this day about deadlines but, in particular, post-judgment motions. In Mattison v. Gelber, the court dealt with facts that validate my paranoia.

This case started, as many malpractice claims do, with a battle over venue. Plaintiff filed in Prince George’s County against two doctors. There is not a medical malpractice attorney in Maryland who would not prefer Prince George’s County to anywhere else (a possible exception: Baltimore City). But the malpractice happened in Howard County, one of the toughest places in Maryland to try a malpractice case. The Prince George’s County Circuit Court transferred the case, it did what it likes to do if there is a venue of issue: kick it out of their court.

Continue reading